Kash Patel, FBI director, is not happy with this Trump's decision for his agency
FBI Director Kash Patel expressed concerns over proposed budget cuts, warning they would hinder the bureau's core functions.
On Wednesday, FBI Director Kash Patel criticised the White House’s proposed budget cuts to his agency.
Speaking before the House Appropriations Committee, Patel responded to Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), who pressed him on how the FBI would adapt to the budget changes.
“At this time we have not looked at who to cut,” Patel said. “We are focusing our energies on how not to have them cut, by coming in here and highlighting to you that we can’t do the mission on those 2011 budget levels.”
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Trump’s budget plan slashes $545M from FBI
The proposed cuts are part of Donald Trump’s latest budget plan, which seeks to trim $545 million from the FBI’s funding as part of an effort to slash $163 billion from non-defence discretionary spending.
“The Budget reflects the President’s priority of reducing violent crime in American cities and protecting national security by getting FBI agents into the field by cutting FBI D.C. overhead and preserving existing law enforcement officers,” the budget states.
“The proposed budget… reflects a new focus on counterintelligence and counterterrorism, while reducing non-law enforcement missions that do not align with the President’s priorities,” it says, listing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, “pet projects” from past administrations, and overlapping intelligence programs as areas for reduction.
Patel, however, argued, “The proposed budget that I put forward is to cover us for $11.1 billion, which would not have us cut any positions.”
The White House’s so-called “skinny” budget did not outline an exact topline number for the FBI, but based on Patel’s comments, the proposed funding would fall roughly $1 billion short of the bureau’s stated needs.
He said the FBI is currently working closely with the White House Office of Management and Budget as well as congressional appropriators to make its case and avoid the steep cuts. “We cannot cover down on the mission at the levels that we would have to go to,” Patel warned.
